I left soon after Roth, needing to gather supplies before catching my flight to Istanbul. Packing the beautiful daggers Roth had given me almost broke me down to tears, but I couldn’t give in. This was a mess of my own making, and I’d have to clean it up.

I hesitated only for a moment, pondering whether I should leave a note, but thought better of it. I couldn’t risk leaving any hint about where I’d gone. To keep Roth safe, I would have to disappear completely. After one last long look at the chateau, the ache in my heart threatening yet again to bring tears to my eyes, I struck off toward the market district.

Never seeing Roth again burned almost as much as the dread of the fate that awaited me in Ares’s lair. I wouldn’t get out alive. That was a given. But I didn’t want to give Ares the chance to play with me before my death. Just the memory of his hands on my body chilled me to the bone. No. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. He’d have to kill me first.

With my thoughts weighing heavily on me, I shouldered my pack and hailed a taxi. The sooner I could gather my gear and go, the better.

I knew exactly which shops to hit. The market I was headed to was hidden from mortal eyes. Only Underworlders and immortals could see the row of dingy shops in this Paris back alley. Chief on my list of provisions were weapons and witchcraft. I’d never been much for spells and didn’t have one ounce of magical talent, but that didn’t mean I was incapable of hurling ready-made magic bombs. They looked like little sachets full of some deceptively innocuous herbs, but I had witnessed many an Underworlder’s messy demise on the battlefields of Olympus thanks to the bombs Elena created. I doubted the street-quality goods packed quite the punch of what Elena could whip up, but I’d take my chances.

After loading up on a few specialty items at the Paris magic market, I went to the mystical weapons shop. Cranfel’s Weaponry was well known by immortals, primarily because most of its goods came from the Underworld. No blade could match those forged in the fires of Hades itself, which was a specialty of the goblins at Cranfel’s. The place looked like it was straight out of the seventeenth century. Battle axes and broadswords lined the walls, some of them still stained with dried blood.

The goblin proprietor leaned on the well-worn counter and eyed my fighting gear—a tight-fitting set of black pants and matching top—with undisguised lust.

“Up here, goblin.” I spoke to the white patches of hair on top of his pea-green head. His gaze lifted to my face, and he gave a gap-toothed smile.

“What can I do ye for, miss?”

“I need a dozen throwing knives, pure silver, none of that silver-coated stuff, and a half-dozen arrows—explosive broadheads, eagle feathers for fletching, and only ash shafts, no cedar. Got it?”

“I have fairy wings in stock, if you’d prefer them to eagle feathers. They’re fresh too.” He wiped his oozing mouth with the back of his scabby hand.

I recoiled at the idea of “fresh” fairy wings and used all my impulse control to keep from ripping a sword down from the wall and relieving the creature of its head. As it was, I replied tersely, “Eagle.”

The goblin blinked slowly before lumbering to the back of the shop. After what seemed an inordinate amount of time, he finally appeared, bearing the appropriate arrows, with eagle feathers. Thank the gods. I gave them a thorough inspection before adding them to my pack.

“Going hunting?” The goblin raised an eyebrow, well aware I wasn’t arming myself for sport.

“Something like that.”

Once he’d produced the knives, I paid up and caught a cab to the airport.

All my other provisions could wait until I landed in Istanbul. I didn’t want to spend another second in Paris, lest the urge to run back to Roth overcame me.

I sat and watched the familiar sights go by my window, silently saying my good-byes to the city that had taught me to love. To the man, really. Roth had brought me back to life in the City of Light, yet all I’d done was scheme to betray him. But I could make it right.

I sighed and rested my head against the glass, letting dusk settle over my heart as it did the city. I was at once satisfied I was getting away so easily yet sad Roth would never know what happened to me. This is the only way to save him. Staying would only make things worse.